10 Things To Do In Your Summer Break To Set Up for 2017

 

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The summer break is a great time to unwind, relax and spend some time with friends and family. These relatively commitment free weeks can easily be used as an escape from thinking about our businesses, but it can also be a great opportunity to gear up for coming year so that when the clock ticks over into 2017, you’re ready to go!

Sales

  1. Are you in the habit of acknowledging your clients? Our clients are the people who keep us in business. Christmas is a great time to send a quick thank you card or even a small gift to acknowledge how important they are in the everyday flow of business. If it’s too late to get started on those thank you gifts, it’s worth spending time planning your acknowledgements for the coming year. Whether it’s a card, gift or even a simple follow up call, it’s going the extra mile that keeps your clients coming back for more.
  2. Taking time out to look over your website could be extremely valuable in the New Year. What can you do to make your website more conducive to sales? Are your clients using it as you intended or have they found shortcuts? Are your links easy to find? You don’t need to make all the changes during your holidays, it is time to relax after all! Simply spend a little time looking it over and making notes, the changes can come when you get back to work.

Marketing

  1. Mapping out the first 6 months of the year can be extremely valuable. Deliberately plan when you will post on social media or when you’ll distribute marketing materials. If the Christmas meal left you feeling lazy, bounce ideas off your family and friends and write them down so you’re ready to go when you walk in the doors of your business in 2017.
  2. Is the content on your website relevant? It might be time to take a little time and consider how relatable your content is. Are you still recycling content from 5 years ago or has your blog been left desolate for a few months? Take note of whether you need to revamp and update in the New Year to make sure your clients stay interested.

Networking

  1. With online networking being bigger than ever, it’s important to spend a little time updating your online presence. Updating information can slip our minds during the busy year, but your summer break is a great time to make sure all your information is current – all those achievements and qualifications from the past year can really help you shine online. If you’re not already online networking, your summer break is a great time to get set up.
  2. This downtime is also a great opportunity to perfect your business pitch. Come up with 2 or 3 pitches of differing lengths (think 30 seconds, 1 minute or even 5 minutes). Practice on your family and friends and get their honest feedback; by the end of your summer break, you’ll be well prepared to deliver your pitch at the next networking event you attend.

Mindset

  1. Setting goals and New Year resolutions is a common task for many at the beginning of a new year, but how often do you sit down and reflect on everything you’ve achieved in the past year? You’ll find that not only did you work really hard to reach those goals you wrote down, you triumphed when unexpected situations arose. A quick reflection can give you the motivation you need to thrive in the New Year.
  2. During the holidays, it’s tempting to kick back and put all thoughts of work aside. Setting apart time to relax is extremely important but it’s also important to set the tone for 2017. Finding the perfect balance between rest, work and play in the holidays will set you up to have a balanced mindset throughout the rest of the year.

Self-Development

  1. What do you want to achieve in 2017? The goals you choose might be linked to your business or they might be private, personal milestones you want to reach – either way, it’s important to write them down so you can visualise them and work towards them all year.
  2. Make that first step towards your goals. Do you want to learn a new language so you can reach more clients? Do the research now and find an institute that can give you that skill – they might not commence class for a few months, but you’ll be ready to enrol when they do. Prepare yourself early so you can smash all your goals this year!

Have a fantastic summer break – we can’t wait to see what 2017 brings in the world of business!

 

Through our Business for Life program, we help business owners from across Australia build a toolbox of skills that they can use to grow their success. We’d love to chat about how we could help you. Call Bx on 1300 068 229 or find out about our Business for Life Program.

 

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How To Stop Missing Goals

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Everyone has lofty goals; some of us want to increase sales or get that promotion, some even have grand plans to change the world. Those goals can be easy to set, but how often do we actually reach them? My bet is, not very often.

There are a few mistakes people make and the biggest of them is trying to tackle one big project in one go without much thought. Many people become overzealous in their attempt to get something done and jump straight in but, while doing so can often feel productive – we all want that instant gratification – taking too big of a leap can mean we find it difficult to keep our heads above the water and inevitably find ourselves overwhelmed.

Failing to specify the details of our big goals can doom us to fail right from the beginning; when our mind is unclear of what we really want, we struggle to visualise where we want to go and we give up. Losing sight of our goal can mean we lack the commitment to all the tiny details, so we start moving away from that goal instead.

“When eating an elephant, take one bite at a time.” – Creighton Abrams.

If we think of a university degree – a big goal, chased after by many people, young and old – we can see how a goal can become overwhelming. Degrees are made of years, which are broken up into semesters and then subjects. Each subject has a list of assessments while the assessments themselves are comprised of paragraphs, sentences, words and letters. The smaller your goal is broken up, the easier it becomes to achieve.

A university degree seems insurmountable when you think of everything due at the end of the semester, but it simplifies itself and seems far easier to attain when you think of it as writing one word after another.

The next time you set yourself a goal, ask yourself these questions:

What do I want to achieve? Sometimes, this could be stating the obvious, but for bigger, more complex goals make sure you consider all the details; if you want your income to increase by the end of the year, write down the exact amount so you can visualise and work toward it.

What do I need to reach my goal? Think about every little step you can take on your way to the big goal, as well as people you might need to network with and set out a timeline.

How can I break it down? Break down every task, regardless of how small each step becomes. Remember, every tiny step is getting you to that giant goal.

How long will each task take? Setting realistic time boundaries, for each individual task can help you get to that big goal, on time. Setting mini-deadlines can keep you moving forward.

Do I need help? Thinking you’re alone in this journey can be detrimental to actually achieving your goals. Think about who can best help you to move forward and contact them to see if they’re willing to help you when you need it.

What can I do right away? After you’ve written out all your mini-deadlines and tasks, you’ll find there are some small things you can do straight away to start moving forward. The best part? You can put a little tick next to that box and get that instant gratification we mentioned earlier.

Remember, your goal will hopefully have a positive effect on your life, business or career – staying positive on your journey to achieving the goal means that your goal will be even sweeter when you get there!

Goal setting plays a massive role in all aspects of business. Through our Business for Life program, we help business owners from across Australia build a toolbox of skills that they can use to grow their success.  We’d love to chat about how we could help you. Call Bx on 1300 068 229 or find out about our Business for Life Program.

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Leaping With Faith

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You know the feeling; it’s that tiny voice in the back of your mind and the butterflies in your stomach when you have the opportunity to take a giant leap in your business. Unfortunately, for too many people, the risk seems too great, even when there could be a great result on the other side.

At 2015’s Bxponential, Emanuel Comino spoke about the impact just 20 seconds of courage can have when the fear starts to set in. It’s those 20 seconds when you decide to leap into a new opportunity, which set you up for everything that is still to come.

Your business can be a little like a choose your own adventure story; when you’re faced with that nerve-wracking situation, you can ask yourself two questions to decide to move onto the next page:

What if you don’t?

There is a risk in jumping into the unknown – absolutely no one will deny that. Even entrepreneurs who’ve been in the game for decades will tell you that the fear of failure is still there, tapping them on the shoulder. Instead of turning around, they stop caring about failing; they believe in what they’re giving their clients, so they can keep moving forward with confidence.

“Some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”  – J.K Rowling

The fear of failure has crippled many throughout history – some are so scared of rejection and failure that they do nothing at all. This approach keeps you in your comfort zone for now, but it means that you aren’t trying new things or pushing yourself and your business to the limits. How can you know what’s possible if you’re not willing to try?

What if you do?

Guess what? A little unease is expected when you’re faced with a big decision, conversation or opportunity. Instead of letting that fear be a roadblock, let it be your guide. When you start to feel a little uneasy, let that be the sign that reminds you it might be time to use those 20 seconds of courage you’ve been saving up.

People who have fears – perhaps of spiders, the dark or even dogs – are often told to confront those fears; looking at a spider, putting yourself into a dark room or interacting with a dog can be incredibly scary, but if you do it often enough, it starts to become normal. The fear may not ever go away, but you can start to gain control over it and maybe one day, you might look back and say ‘why was I ever worried about that?’.

Remember, it’s courage over fear – don’t waste your time trying to eliminate your fear, instead, build up your courage so that it’s ready to go when fear does start to creep in.

In your business story, are you going to choose to stay safe on page one, putting things off forever to avoid failure? Or, will you choose to leap with full confidence to see what the rest of the pages in your story look like?

 

Through our Business for Life program, we help business owners from across Australia build a toolbox of skills that they can use to grow their success. We’d love to chat about how we could help you. Call Bx on 1300 068 229 or find out about our Business for Life Program.

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